Editorial - Unrelated topics - Puppy mills, abortions and innovation

Published: Sunday, May 12, 2013 at 10:54 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, May 12, 2013 at 10:54 p.m.

Investing in innovation

Some Republican lawmakers are determined to kill the state's successful renewable-energy law, even after a House committee last week killed the bill. It's gotten new life there after tax-reform ideologue Grover Norquist and other outsiders decided to get into the act. The original decision was the right one.

And a dart for Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick and co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who determined through a voice vote that the measure passed his committee. But according to Raleigh TV station WRAL, which interviewed committee members, the bill would have been defeated had Rabon actually taken a roll-call vote.

Fossil fuels will be needed for many years to come, but that does not mean we should reject promising alternative-energy resources that have the potential to meet some of our fuel needs. Worldwide, renewable sources account for more than 16 percent of energy consumption, and that percentage is growing.

Since the law was approved more than five years ago, renewable energy, especially solar power, has grown in North Carolina. Electricity customers in North Carolina pay 22 cents to 42 cents per month to help subsidize the clean-energy industry. In addition to providing a percentage of the power we generate, the industry also is providing jobs – good jobs, not the low-wage service jobs that have dominated the post-recession recovery. The law is working.

If North Carolina is to attract 21st-century jobs, we have to embrace innovation and new things, including new ways to provide the fuel we need to keep our society running. Alternatively, we can leave innovation to other states or to China, which is investing heavily in green-energy industries. (According to a July 2012 article in Forbes magazine, not exactly a bastion of liberal commentary, China leads the world in renewable-energy investments.)

We should encourage innovation, not kill it – especially when the results thus far have been positive.

Puppy mill bill passes

Hats off to the N.C. House for approving a bill designed to ensure humane treatment of dogs in commercial breeding kennels.

While many breeders do look out for the welfare of the puppies they raise, others have not been so conscientious. We've all seen footage of puppy mills where female dogs are bred as soon as they wean one litter, and where conditions are nothing short of atrocious.

House Bill 930 passed with overwhelming support – only 14 of the chamber's 120 members voted no. All Cape Fear area House members voted in favor of the bill.

Among other things the bill requires the type of basic care that should not be necessary to mandate of reputable breeders – access to food, water, regular exercise and good veterinary care, for starters, as well as humane euthanasia when it's necessary to put a dog down.

It's late in coming, but a welcome development. Let's hope the state Senate concurs.

Abortion and sex education

More information is always preferable to less, as long as the information is accurate. If a bill requiring that school sex education programs include information on the potential long-range effects of abortion mandates teaching only established facts, there should be no objections from either parents or educators.

The problem is, since Republicans took control of the General Assembly, they have been quick to dictate not only policy but content of abortion-related information, such as the government-mandated script women seeking abortions must now hear from their doctor as they undergo a politically mandated, invasive and medically unnecessary vaginal ultrasound.

A few years back, abstinence-only programs mandated by lawmakers were teaching inaccurate information, causing school systems to change the curriculum. North Carolina now offers comprehensive sex education programs, which are also abstinence-based, in all school districts.

The Honorables heard testimony last week that research has found a correlation between abortion – particularly multiple abortions – and later risk of premature birth. They also heard testimony that several prominent health organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization and the American Public Health Association, don't necessarily agree with the science behind some of that research, a fact that also should be included in discussions. Of course, there are many other risk factors, which the curriculum also is supposed to include. Some women with no known risk factors also give birth prematurely.

Young people who will soon be faced with the pressure to become sexually active, if they are not already, need to know the facts. But educators and medical professionals, not politicians, should determine how to teach the information.

And let's remember that these classes are not pregnancy and childbirth classes, but pregnancy prevention classes. Teenagers who don't get pregnant don't need to consider an abortion.

McCrory the bystander

Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory doesn't want to get involved with the General Assembly's overt attempt to usurp city governments, particularly those where Democrats hold a majority.

Sitting on now-Gov. McCrory's desk is a bill that would take away Asheville's water and sewer system and turn it over to a regional authority – without compensation for the millions of dollars in debt that city taxpayers must still repay. McCrory notes the potential legal and constitutional issues associated with the heavy-handed action but says he'll let the bill become law without his signature.

A similar ongoing power struggle involves his former city. A bill in the General Assembly would take the Charlotte Douglas Airport away from the city's control.

If a former mayor of the state's largest city won't stand up for North Carolina municipalities, who will?

<p class="bold allcaps">Investing in innovation</p>
<p>Some Republican lawmakers are determined to kill the state's successful renewable-energy law, even after a House committee last week killed the bill. It's gotten new life there after tax-reform ideologue Grover Norquist and other outsiders decided to get into the act. The original decision was the right one.</p><p>And a dart for Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick and co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who determined through a voice vote that the measure passed his committee. But according to Raleigh TV station WRAL, which interviewed committee members, the bill would have been defeated had Rabon actually taken a roll-call vote.</p><p>Fossil fuels will be needed for many years to come, but that does not mean we should reject promising alternative-energy resources that have the potential to meet some of our fuel needs. Worldwide, renewable sources account for more than 16 percent of energy consumption, and that percentage is growing. </p><p>Since the law was approved more than five years ago, renewable energy, especially solar power, has grown in North Carolina. Electricity customers in North Carolina pay 22 cents to 42 cents per month to help subsidize the clean-energy industry. In addition to providing a percentage of the power we generate, the industry also is providing jobs – good jobs, not the low-wage service jobs that have dominated the post-recession recovery. The law is working.</p><p>If North Carolina is to attract 21st-century jobs, we have to embrace innovation and new things, including new ways to provide the fuel we need to keep our society running. Alternatively, we can leave innovation to other states or to China, which is investing heavily in green-energy industries. (According to a July 2012 article in Forbes magazine, not exactly a bastion of liberal commentary, China leads the world in renewable-energy investments.)</p><p>We should encourage innovation, not kill it – especially when the results thus far have been positive.</p><h3>Puppy mill bill passes</h3>
<p>Hats off to the N.C. House for approving a bill designed to ensure humane treatment of dogs in commercial breeding kennels.</p><p>While many breeders do look out for the welfare of the puppies they raise, others have not been so conscientious. We've all seen footage of puppy mills where female dogs are bred as soon as they wean one litter, and where conditions are nothing short of atrocious.</p><p>House Bill 930 passed with overwhelming support – only 14 of the chamber's 120 members voted no. All Cape Fear area House members voted in favor of the bill.</p><p>Among other things the bill requires the type of basic care that should not be necessary to mandate of reputable breeders – access to food, water, regular exercise and good veterinary care, for starters, as well as humane euthanasia when it's necessary to put a dog down.</p><p>It's late in coming, but a welcome development. Let's hope the state Senate concurs.</p><h3>Abortion and sex education</h3>
<p>More information is always preferable to less, as long as the information is accurate. If a bill requiring that school sex education programs include information on the potential long-range effects of abortion mandates teaching only established facts, there should be no objections from either parents or educators.</p><p>The problem is, since Republicans took control of the General Assembly, they have been quick to dictate not only policy but content of abortion-related information, such as the government-mandated script women seeking abortions must now hear from their doctor as they undergo a politically mandated, invasive and medically unnecessary vaginal ultrasound. </p><p>A few years back, abstinence-only programs mandated by lawmakers were teaching inaccurate information, causing school systems to change the curriculum. North Carolina now offers comprehensive sex education programs, which are also abstinence-based, in all school districts.</p><p>The Honorables heard testimony last week that research has found a correlation between abortion – particularly multiple abortions – and later risk of premature birth. They also heard testimony that several prominent health organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization and the American Public Health Association, don't necessarily agree with the science behind some of that research, a fact that also should be included in discussions. Of course, there are many other risk factors, which the curriculum also is supposed to include. Some women with no known risk factors also give birth prematurely.</p><p>Young people who will soon be faced with the pressure to become sexually active, if they are not already, need to know the facts. But educators and medical professionals, not politicians, should determine how to teach the information.</p><p>And let's remember that these classes are not pregnancy and childbirth classes, but pregnancy prevention classes. Teenagers who don't get pregnant don't need to consider an abortion.</p><h3>McCrory the bystander</h3>
<p>Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory doesn't want to get involved with the General Assembly's overt attempt to usurp city governments, particularly those where Democrats hold a majority.</p><p>Sitting on now-Gov. McCrory's desk is a bill that would take away Asheville's water and sewer system and turn it over to a regional authority – without compensation for the millions of dollars in debt that city taxpayers must still repay. McCrory notes the potential legal and constitutional issues associated with the heavy-handed action but says he'll let the bill become law without his signature.</p><p>A similar ongoing power struggle involves his former city. A bill in the General Assembly would take the Charlotte Douglas Airport away from the city's control.</p><p>If a former mayor of the state's largest city won't stand up for North Carolina municipalities, who will?</p>